A 15-month-long controversy over the possible removal of the brutalist Vaillancourt Fountain is over for now, as the SF Arts Commission just voted 8-5 to take it down, though they say it will be put into storage and it could possibly be rebuilt.
It created some waves July 2024 when SF city officials presented a proposed redesign for the Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park and that design did not include the Vaillancourt Fountain that’s been there since 1971. Fans of the striking and some would say appallingly ugly fountain mounted a campaign to preserve it, even bringing in the fountain’s designer, 95-year-old French-Canadian artist Armand Vaillancourt.
Their appeals hit a wall when Rec and Parks fenced the fountain off to the public in June of this year, calling it “hazardous,” and saying, “the structure is cracked, corroded and missing key supports.” (The water in the fountain hasn’t been running in years.) A month later, Rec and Parks officials said that renovating the fountain would cost way too much, with the cost of renovating the fountain at $29 million, while the overall park renovation was working on a $30 million budget.
Rec and Parks formally requested the fountain’s removal this past August, making the request to the SF Arts Commission that has final say on public art in San Francisco. Then last week, Rec and Parks really pushed the issue by saying they would pay for the statue’s removal and storage if the Arts Commission would just hurry up and vote to remove the damned thing.
On Monday, Rec and Parks got their way. Late Monday afternoon, the SF Arts Commission voted to remove Vaillancourt Fountain, in an 8-5 vote that packed City Hall with both supporters and detractors of the fountain.
“It is not about artistic merit. It is not about the importance of the work, because it is very important,” commissioner Janine Shiota said before the vote. “I love this space. I saw U2 at this space.”
But she and seven other commissioners voted to have the fountain removed, because if its poor condition, safety hazards, and the fact that apparently its underground pump room is “routinely flooded,” according to Rec and Parks.
The fountain will not be demolished or destroyed. It will be taken down, put into storage, and assessed for repair and possible reconstruction. But the fountain’s supporters may be absolutely correct in that once it’s taken down and in storage, that may be the last we ever see of Vaillancourt Fountain.
Note: This is a developing story and will be updated.
Related: SF Rec & Parks Appears to Make End Run to Get Rid of Vaillancourt Fountain In a Hurry [SFist]
Image: 9yz via Wikimedia Commons
Joe Kukura
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